November 30, 2011

cooking for one

For some time now a post has been sitting in draft, staring out contentiously each time I log on, one in which I set out to explore the drudgery of cooking for four. That wasn't the original intention - not at all - it was intended as a helpful guide for feeding teenagers (boys, in particular) good, simple vegetarian food, a skill I've been honing for the past ten years which makes me something of an expert, even if I do say so myself, but about halfway through I stopped. I was making the task sound abominable.

A few weeks later I found myself cooking alone. Bliss.

These days, I cook for myself at least one night a week. It's a task I relish, a chance to cook the kind of food I like. I almost always eat well, but even I - a cooking obsessive - am not immune to repeating the sameold, sameold.

Cooking for yourself should be a joy, not a drag even though that is what we are led to believe the task should be, but it should also, as my friend Jo says, be about keeping up standards. A little bit of self-respect, a little moment to step away from things and treat yourself well, to feed whatever it is that your good self requires. A meal that is, if you get my drift, about more than mere fueling alone. Kathryn came along with another excellent idea for An Honest Kitchen - Cooking for One - at just the right time. All of us will cook for ourselves at some stage in life, for all the different reasons that exist, and all of us will need a little inspiration from time to time.

I'm really proud of the work we've done on this edition; the 3 recipes are delicious (there is a KILLER dressing in there that I've worked into at least one meal a week since) but there are also lots of thoughts about how to make leftovers into something fresher, on how to eat well. But the thing I'm most proud of is that it's a budget-friendly edition, so that eating solo will not, if you follow Kathryn's advice, cost you the earth.

Also, I DREW! Very nearly fainted when I realised that I'd enjoyed it too...

And so, here she is: An Honest Kitchen, Cooking for One. It'll set you back a mere $3 (AU). TOTALLY budget friendly.

Thanks guys! Gorgeous. A quiet thanks for the poached egg tutorial. Have never got that most simple of tasks right so this method will be my last chance saloon. ....May I say that there is no chance of my standards slipping now that I am armed with this wee volume. Off I trot to iron a napkin, polish the silver and set the table.....

sharon: these things kinda come and go, no? well, i hope the drawing bit is here to stay this time around. thank you SO much!

jess: thanks, you! enjoy. that dressing...noms.

denise: thank you so much. x

miss jo: well, imagine my joy at finding a comment from you here today. pleased as punch. kathryn will be thrilled that you're gonna try egg-poaching. seriously, so much fuss is made over how to do it right...be not afraid, i say.